Reception Rationale.

Mini Mash is a platform within Purple Mash that is designed to aid and support our EYFS children with their development throughout their foundation years. The Mini Mash units for Reception link to their early learning goals. The units cover the following early learning goals (ELG):

• Communication and Language
• Expressive Arts
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social, Emotional Development (PSED)
• Understanding the World

Our teaching staff in Reception choose activities from the ELG below throughout the academic year to aid our children with developing their foundation in regards to Computing before they move on to using Purple Mash in Year 1.

Communication and Language

In the communication and language strand of learning, our reception pupils focus on the skills of being imaginative, listening and attention, speaking and understanding.

When focussing on the skill of being imaginative, reception children use the following resources on Mini Mash:

• 2Paint a Picture
• Paint Projects
• 2Create a Story
• Mashcams,
• 2Beat,
• 2Explore
• 2Design

Our reception children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. The children represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories using the resources mentioned earlier on Mini Mash.

Pupils then progress on to exploring the ability of their listening and attention. They use the following resources on Mini Mash:

• Simple City
• Slideshows
• 2Create a Story
• Talking Stories

Reception pupils work on listening attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. In addition to this they give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

The children then move on to their speaking unit. Pupils explore the following resources on Mini Mash:

• Mashcams
• 2Create a Story
• Slideshows

Through this unit our reception children are expected to express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They learn to use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Through the understanding unit reception pupils use the following resources throughout this unit:

• 2Go
• Simple City
• 2Create a Story

Pupils learn to follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

Expressive Arts

When exploring the expressive arts strand of learning, our reception pupils work on exploring using media.

The children use the following resources on Mini Mash throughout their unit of exploring with media:

• 2Beat
• 2Explore
• 2Design and Make
• 2Paint a Picture
• Paint Projects

Throughout this unit our reception pupils sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

Literacy

During the literacy strand of learning reception pupils engage with the reading and writing units on Mini Mash.

Throughout the reading unit, reception pupils use the following resources:

• Mashcams
• 2Create a Story
• Alphabet Slideshows
• 2Email and 2Respond
• Talking Stories

Our reception children are expected to read and understand simple sentences. They will use their phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

Reception pupils progress on to their writing unit. They use the following resources on Mini Mash to practise and support them with their writing:

• Mashcams
• 2Connect
• 2Create a Story
• 2Publish
• 2Email/2Respond

During this writing unit, our reception children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. Building on this knowledge pupils write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others will be hopefully phonetically plausible.

Mathematics

The mathematics strand of learning in reception covers number, shape, space and measure.

Reception children start off with looking at number. They use the following resources on Mini Mash to aid them with their number activities:

• Maths City 1
• A-fish-metic
• Number Pain Projects
• 2Count

During this unit our reception children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. They use given quantities and objects and add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. In addition to this they solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

In the Shape, Space and Measure unit the following resources from Mini Mash are used:

• Maths City 1 and 2
• Shapes PIN
• 2DIY
• 2Design and Make

Our reception children are expected to use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. Finally, they explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

Physical Development

Reception pupils consider health and self-care whilst exploring the early learning goal of physical development. During this unit they the Mini Mash Grocers program to understand the importance of good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and they will talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. They gain an understanding of how to manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently.

Physical, Social and Emotional development

Through exploring the early learning goal of physical, social and emotional development (PSED), our reception children progress on to understanding how to make relationships. This follows on nicely to the topic of self-confidence and awareness.

During the unit of making relationships, reception pupils use the following resources on Mini Mash:

• Using tablets (iPad)
• Using the PC
• Using Interactive Whiteboards
• All about Me and Feelings PINS

In this unit our reception pupils learn how to play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They understand how to take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They start to show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

In the self-confidence and self- awareness unit, reception pupils use Mini Mash home screen resources to aid their learning. During this unit pupils become more confident to speak in a familiar group, talk about their ideas and choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.

Understanding the World

Reception pupils work towards the early learning goal of understanding the world. They explore units of ‘people and communities’, ‘technology’ and the ‘world’ on Mini Mash.

In the people and communities’ unit, our reception children use the All About Me and Feelings PINS on Mini Mash to support their learning. During this unit, children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They gain an understanding that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They learn and know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.

In the technology unit reception pupils use the resource Simple City on Mini Mash and explore a variety of other resources to recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes. This leads in nicely to Year 1 where the children use specific programs for their Computing units.